First Sony Blu-Ray Player Due in July

By Geoff Duncan March 17, 2006

First Sony Blu-Ray Player Due in July

Electronics giant Sony plans to begin selling its $1,000 BDP-S1 Blu-Ray disc player in July 2006, with Blu-ray equipped desktop and notebook computers becoming available about the same time. According to Sony, customers can begin pre-ordering the units through SonyStyle.com and other Internet retailers (Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon.com, and others) beginning today.

Although Sony’s the leader of the Blu-ray camp of next-generation DVD device manufacturers, its player will not be the first Blu-ray consumer device to market: that distinction goes to Samsung, whose BD-P1000 Blu-Ray player is scheduled to go on sale May 23, 2006, also for about $1,000. May 23 is the same day Sony plans to release eight Blu-ray movie titles, which Sony said in February would include 50 First Dates and Hitch. Sony plans to release eight more Blu-Ray titles in June, and release a total of 100 films in Blu-Ray format by the end of 2006.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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Save $100 on this sleek Sony 4K Blu-Ray player at Best Buy today

Sony UBP X700

It's the time of the year to binge every Home Alone and every single Christmas movie that ever hit the theaters. What better way to enjoy your favorite Christmas movies than with a striking, sleek, Sony Blu-Ray player. This Sony 4K Blu-Ray player is just $150 right now -- down $100 from its original price of $250. There's no better time to upgrade your home theater system. Buy this 4K media player now before stocks run out.

The Sony UBPX700 player converts any movie or video you watch into striking 4K picture quality. There's even Dolby Vision HDR and advanced surround sound so you and your family will be immersed in the worlds of your favorite characters the second you turn your new media player on. Every action sequence will be detailed, too, with the lowest lit scenes brightened immensely so you can always keep up with the action -- never miss an Easter egg again. The studio-quality sound will also save you the effort of purchasing an additional soundbar or speaker system, so you know you're getting your money's worth.

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Samsung Blu-ray players suddenly malfunctioning for unknown reason

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Samsung Blu-ray players are malfunctioning out of the blue, with most reports claiming that the devices are stuck in endless reboots.

Thousands of owners of Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems have gone online to complain about the sudden issues, which seemingly started on June 19, according to ZDNet. While the reports vary, the most common problem appears to be Samsung Blu-ray players that continuously power on and off.

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Ultra HD Blu-ray: Everything you need to know

If you've got questions about Ultra HD Blu-ray, we've got answers

Samsung’s UBD-K8500 player

While streaming is obviously more convenient for most of us, anyone who wants the best possible picture and sound quality for their home theater needs Ultra HD Blu-ray. The format offers more stability and better fidelity than streaming, and it's a pretty significant leap forward from 1080p HD Blu-ray, too. That's especially obvious when you throw HDR (High Dynamic Range) and WCG (Wide Color Gamut) into the mix, which results in increased contrast and greater color volume.

Of course, with any technology upgrade comes plenty of conditions and caveats. Do you need a new disc player? Will it be backward compatible? Do you need new cables, a new receiver, or any other new equipment? For the answers to those questions and more, read on.
What’s so great about Ultra HD Blu-ray?
It’s true that streaming movies and TV shows from services like Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu are the future of TV, but although streaming has made big strides in recent years, discs still outdo streaming when it comes to performance. The reason comes down to one very simple, but important factor: Bit rate.